Reducing lead scum or litharge



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH IVILLIAMS, SR., OF SIIARPSBUBG, PENNSYLVANIA.

REDUCING LEAD SCUM OR LITHARGE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 556,793, dated March 24,1896.

Application filed December 28, 1895. Serial No. 573,640. (No specimens.)

To all 1072,0117, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JosEPH WILLLiMs, $12, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Sharpsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inReducing Lead Scum or Litharge; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the inventiomsuch as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention. relates to certain new and useful improvements in reducinglead scum or litharge, and has for its object the provision of new andnovel means whereby the scum or lit-barge will be reduced to acommercial state inless time and with less labor than is possible underthe ordinary method.

My invention has for a further object the protection of the workmanshealth, as the present method is very injurious.

With the above and other objects in view this invention finally consistsin the novel process for this purpose to be hereinafter morespecifically described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

Heretofore in the manufacture of litharge it is conveyed from the testor furnace into iron buggies for the purpose. These buggies are placedbeside the test or furnace in suitableposition and the scum or lithargeis blown by a current of air or scraped off the test or furnace into thebuggies and becomes solidified. It is then necessary to reduce it tosmall lumps by a sledge to prepare it for the grinding-mill, whichreduces it to a commercial state. This process is exceedingly slow,tedious, and dangerous, as the dust arising from the caked scum whilebeing broken by the sledge-hammer and grinding in the mill is veryinjurious to the health of the workman. Instances can be cited wherein aworkmans health has been ruined in the short space of six weeks byinhaling the dust which arises in process of breaking and grinding thescum or litharge.

Myimproved process to avoid this labor and danger consists in theplacing of a receptacle containing water, pure or impregnated withalkali or other substances, near the test or furnace. The hot scum orlitharge being con veyed into the water reduces it to a powder and atthe same time separates any pieces of metallic lead, &c., which may havebecome mixed with the litharge while being conveyed from the test orfurnace. This process reduces the scum or litharge to a commercial statewithout further process. The only labor now required is to drain thewater from the litharge and remove any pieces of metallic lead. Then thelitharge is ready for use and is of considerable value in themanufacture of glass, as is well known in the art.

I desire to call attention to the fact that by my process the value ofthe commercial article is increased to a considerable extent, as the hotscum coming in contact'with the water reduces it to a uniform color,adding to the quality and thus increasing the commercial value.

It will be noted that my process has many advantages over the ordinarymethod, inasmuch as, first, it is much quicker, thereby savingconsiderable labor and expense; secend, it entirely obliterates thedanger to the health of the workmen engaged in this class of work, asthere is no dust to be inhaled; third, it enhances the value of the scumor litharge when reduced to a commercial state by producing a uniformcolor and quality.

Many other advantages will be observed, and it will be also noted thatthe process may be used advantageously in reducing the scum from othermetals.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The process of reducing the scum or litharge to a powder, by conveyingthe litharge while hot into pure water or water impregnated with alkalior other substances.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH IVILLIAMS, SR.

lVitnesses g ALBERT J. WALKER, ll/IACAULAY HUNTER.

